Do I ship it?

Games › Resource Management › Resource Management + Time Manipulation

Specimen · observed

Should I ship a Time Manipulation Resource Management game?

Resource Management + Time Manipulation

Of 21 developers who shipped a Time Manipulation Resource Management game in the last 2 years: 3 in 10 made under est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., the middle one made est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 4 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method., 1 in 20 cleared est. revenue: est. copies × today's US list price; gross, before Steam's cut, taxes and refunds. See method.. 51 more are announced, ×3.9 for every developer who shipped in the last year.

Verdict: poor odds, for a 4 / 10 build.

The middle developer here made $1.3k, ×2.6 the market's $480 for a 4 / 10 build, and 3 in 10 made under $420; 1 in 20 cleared $40k, ×86 the market median. Revenue is down 70% on the market; 51 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year.

Deciding numbers: median 2.6 times the market baseline, revenue down 70% on the market, 51 announced, ×3.9 per developer who shipped in the last year.
Nobody has said they are building this yet.
Resource Management + Time Manipulation
Fig. 1 · this niche among 16,100
Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr n = 21
Median est. gross by half-year cohort, 2023 H1 to 2026 H2: $3.4k → $150 → $9.3k → $32k → $41k → $599 (still earning) → $1.8k (still earning)
The last cohort is still earning.
Outcomes for Resource Management + Time Manipulation: Plate 1 · outcomes, 2 yr, n = 21
Bottom 30% $419 (exactly $419)
Median $1.3k (exactly $1,258)
Top 25% $3.2k (exactly $3,232)
Top 5% $41k (exactly $40,923)
Developers, 2 yr 21
Released games 79
Announced 51
Effort 4 / 10
AI-buildability Medium
Typical price $5.99

momentum: how a niche's revenue percentiles and developer count moved between two equal, adjacent periods, divided by the market's own move. See method., 12 months: revenue down 70% on the market, supply 65% more developers than the period before.

Free games: 16%, excluded from money figures.

See every window in the explorer →

Plate 2 · systems and tooling

Can AI deliver it?

AI-buildability for this niche is medium: the lowest rating among its tags.

Resource Management
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band
Time Manipulation
effort 4 / 10 · medium · effort 4 sits in the medium band

How the rubric works →

Plate 3 · the cost side

What it takes

Effort
4 / 10 · mid 2D, writing-heavy, or simple 3D
Systems
Resource Management, Time Manipulation; 6 in 10 of the top 25% also carry Base Building, Building, Management
Price point
$5.99 typical · top 25% priced $11.99 or above
Art
4 in 10 of the top 25% ship with 2D, 3D, Atmospheric
Plate 4 · demand

Why players buy here

The top 25% priced at $11.99 or above; the middle game at $5.99.

The top 10 games average 88% positive over 1,035 reviews.

Plate 5 · the loss side

What kills games here

Developer outcomes in the last 2 years by share: 3 in 10 under $420, median $1.3k, 1 in 4 over $3.2k, 1 in 20 over $40k.

3 in 10 developers made under $420. 7 in 10 of the 11 games released 1 to 2 years ago have fewer than 100 reviews. 51 games are announced against 13 developers who shipped in the last year, ×3.9 per shipper.

Plate 6 · same mechanic, other settings

Adjacent niches

Resource Management with a different second tag, ranked by verdict then median.

  1. + Artificial IntelligenceFair102 devs · median $11k · 131 announced
  2. + DwarvesFair15 devs · median $11k · 24 announced
  3. + WesternFair19 devs · median $7.0k · 26 announced
  4. + SnowFair24 devs · median $3.8k · 36 announced
  5. + JRPGFair36 devs · median $2.7k · 27 announced
  6. + UnderwaterFair51 devs · median $2.3k · 74 announced
  7. + CollectathonFair167 devs · median $1.9k · 222 announced
  8. + IncrementalFair630 devs · median $1.8k · 1,025 announced
  9. + IdlerFair656 devs · median $1.6k · 979 announced
  10. + ArcadeFair322 devs · median $1.5k · 495 announced
  11. + HorsesFair11 devs · median $1.2k · 18 announced
  12. + Quick-Time EventsFair46 devs · median $719 · 55 announced

All 214 pairs on the Resource Management page

Plate 7 · comparable specimens, by est. revenue

Comparable games

F1® Manager 2024 2024 · $5.8M Cube Chaos 2025 · $223k Magic Research 2 2024 · $110k Train World 2023 · $89k Hotel Giant 2 2010 · $64k
Capsule Game Released Price Reviews Est. copies Est. revenue Developer
F1® Manager 2024 older $34.99 5,554 83% 167k $5.8M (exactly $5,830,034) Frontier Developments
Cube Chaos $11.99 621 95% 19k $223k (exactly $223,374) Wunarg
Magic Research 2 older $5.99 610 92% 18k $110k (exactly $109,617) Maticolotto
Train World older $34.99 85 75% 2.6k $89k (exactly $89,224) Turn Point Games
Hotel Giant 2 older $7.99 268 47% 8.0k $64k (exactly $64,240) Enlight Software Limited, PerspectX
Magic Research older $4.99 410 90% 12k $61k (exactly $61,377) Maticolotto
PERIMETER: Legate Edition older $9.99 143 92% 4.3k $43k (exactly $42,857) K-D Lab
Oasis Mission: Colony Sim $14.99 91 56% 2.7k $41k (exactly $40,923) Lunar pug studio
Unaware in The City $5.99 194 81% 5.8k $35k (exactly $34,862) Mr. Unaware Studios
Mobiles Tycoon older $5.99 177 83% 5.3k $32k (exactly $31,807) Insignis Games
Zoo Protocol · EA $5.99 29 93% 870 $5.2k (exactly $5,211) WaveMood
Arcade Empire Tycoon $4.99 25 68% 750 $3.7k (exactly $3,742) Mind Inside Games
Ghostify $3.99 27 81% 810 $3.2k (exactly $3,232) LightTriadGames
KeyBreach $4.99 21 95% 630 $3.1k (exactly $3,144) sawworm Games
Rescue Team: Ancient Guardian $6.99 11 100% 330 $2.3k (exactly $2,307) Game Mixer
ZAVOD: Conveyor Logic $4.99 12 100% 360 $1.8k (exactly $1,796) Growfall Games
Stop the Blight $12.99 4 50% 120 $1.6k (exactly $1,559) Bouncy Washer

Estimates: copies = reviews × 30, gross = copies × list price.